Most Profitable College Coaches

byJohn Ewing

Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are two of the winningest coaches in college football. Combined the future Hall-of-Famers have won eight national titles. Yet, when we talk about the most profitable coaches in college football, neither ball coach is in the conversation.

Before you place a wager, here are the most profitable coaches in college football.

Bill Snyder (52-30 ATS, +19.57 units)

The Hall of Fame Coach is a legend in Manhattan. The soon-to-be 77-year-old took over the K-State program in 1989; at that time the Wildcats had lost more games than any other college football team in history. Snyder built Kansas State into a national power and has been at the helm for the program’s 300th, 400th and 500th wins. He is so beloved they named the stadium after him. Of all of his accomplishments, perhaps the most impressive is his ability to cover the spread. In the last ten years Kansas State has been underdogs in nearly half of its games and has gone 27-12 ATS (+13.76 units).

Bob Stoops (71-50 ATS, +17.61 units)

“Big Game Bob,” Stoops earned his nickname with a national championship over Florida State in 2000-01 (his second season in Oklahoma) but has since drawn the ire of Sooners fans for the team’s apparent “choking” in big games (reached the title game three more times and lost in all of them). This narrative is a bit unfair. Since arriving in Oklahoma, all Stoops has done is win and cash tickets. Bettors have no ill will toward the head coach.

Willie Taggart (45-26 ATS, +16.67 units)

Taggart doesn’t have the best straight-up record. In six seasons as a head coach at Western Kentucky and South Florida he has gone 30-43. The winning percentage is pretty disappointing, unless you are a gambler. Taggart’s teams have heart. His teams have been underdogs in 50 games, they have covered the spread 70% of the time (+18.35 units).

Additional Tidbits

Saban and Meyer are a combined 119-100 against-the-spread, +14.51 units. Meyer has been the better bet; he is +9.84 units in the last ten years.

Art Briles would rank 8th overall if he hadn’t been fired from Baylor amid revelations of player misconduct. Briles is 67-50 ATS, +13.60 units.